Chicago Police have only completed small fraction of consent decree orders, report says
CHICAGO (CBS) -- More than four years into the Chicago Police Department's court-ordered reform, the department has completed just a small fraction of its requirements.
The CPD said that is because full compliance can take years. CBS 2 Investigator Megan Hickey got a behind-the-scenes look Friday at the progress they say officers are making every day.
One scenario Chicago Police officers could find on any shift involves an agitated and sometimes-armed resident threatening to harm themselves or others. That scenario was acted out in a training exercise that CBS 2 got to witness.
One training officer portrayed a despondent and suicidal man sitting on a curb with a knife pointed at his own throat, saying: "I don't need any help. I don't want to talk to anybody. Just give me a chance and I'll be out of this world shortly."
Another training officer calmly demonstrated an appropriate police response to such a situation, telling the character: "For your safety and mine, I have to place you in handcuffs. You're not under arrest."
A 2017 Department of Justice report described the CPD's training in this area and others as woefully inadequate.
CPD Chief of Constitutional Policing and Reform Angel Novalez said such de-escalation and crisis intervention training sessions have become invaluable practice exercises.
"What we don't want is for our officers to rush in, feel like they have to make an immediate decision, and act," Novalez said.
The consent decree mandates 40 hours of training per officer, per calendar year. The state standard is 24 hours.
The monitor who oversees the consent decree released its most recent report card this week. While it was hopeful for the future, the report noted that CPD has reached full compliance on just 6 percent of its requirements.
Novalez argues there's a lot more behind that number.
"In order to get to that 6 percent, you can't just jump there," he said. "You have to walk that policy walk."
While just 6 percent of CPD's requirements are in full compliance, the consent decree monitor's latest report notes that at least some progress has been made in 85 percent of the goals.
Another behind-the scenes-focus is officer wellness - including yoga for first responders, which CBS 2 also witnessed in action.
"Teaching officers in a safe space to put themselves under stress and to breathe," said CPD Cmdr. Ralph Cruz.
Officers need to manage their own stress in order to truly help others. The CPD acknowledges the pace of compliance on the front of officer wellness is slow - but that's intentional.
"We don't want to do this fast. The public deserves better," Novalez said. "We want to do this right."
The CPD acknowledged Friday that the areas they still need to put more focus on are disability policies and community engagement.
